#subtle awareness

*Every Financial Services Intermediary should read this and practice to be successful.*

Here’s a list I use now on a daily basis as a reminder to increase my happiness:

*1. Give yourself permission.

Permission to be who you are.

Permission to laugh big, to cry when you need to, to fail brilliantly, to make stuff.

Permission to fall apart, breakdown, and get back up again.

Permission to be different and unique.

Permission to go too far and reach your dreams.

*2. Don’t take yourself so seriously.*

Hold yourself with a “light hand.” Laugh at your foibles with amusement.

When things get tough or stress arises, lift your shoulders with an “oh well…”

Know that it’s never as big or life devastating as your mind thinks. Happy people trust that whatever glitch happens will work itself out.

Happy people give a “Ha! Ha!” and a “So what? Who cares? Big Deal! Why not?” when meet with  resistances.

*3. Don’t self-ruminate*.

I remember a friend of mine saying, “when are you going to stop staring at your own belly button…?”

I learned happy people don’t fixate on themselves and their problems. They don’t over-analyze the issue du jour.

When they start to get stuck on a problem or in their head, they put their attention on something else.

I remind myself to not have to have it all figured out: Get outside. Go back to your work. Plan something fun.

*4. Don’t compare.*

Comparison has been compared to a little death. When we compare ourselves to others, we harm ourselves.

Happy people know that they’re no better or less than another person. Someone will always be at a “more evolved place” and someone will always be “less-evolved.”

*Note to self*: Be concerned with only how to do your best and that’s all.

*5. Make Adjustments.*

When something isn’t going your way, when your mood dips, or when you feel “off,” stay curious and  self-aware. Fine-tune the energy in your body by making adjustments.

If you eat something that makes you feel poor, why eat it? Pay attention if that glass of wine the night before makes you feel crappy in the morning or that slice of pizza made you bloated or that ice cream caused you to crash, losing your focus and energy.

When you’re feeling stuck or heavy, take a walk, do something different than your normal routine, meet up with a friend.  

If feeling anxious or stressed, tune-up with extra sleep, meditation/yoga or a hot bath.

*6. Be of service and know how to take care of yourself.*

Happy people want to give back. They have plenty to share. They volunteer, take time out to help a friend, offer to connect people to others for their betterment, and aren’t in need of getting anything back.

Commit to service but also stay aware of how to take care of yourself. When your energy gets depleted, remember to not give away to the point that you lose focus on your own emotional/mental/physical/spiritual health.

Have loving boundaries to care for yourself so that you have more to give.

*7. Choose uplifting friendships.*

When we have friendships and conversations that are uplifting, supportive, and loving, with people interested in our betterment, we are on a faster track to our own enlightenment.

If you hang out with someone and don’t feel great afterward, see less of that person and seek out  other friendships.

Know which friends increase your happiness and nurture those relationships.

*8. Be less interested in being happy and more interested in your peace of mind.*

I used to think happiness was about being totally ecstatic. In order to balance out my feelings of hopelessness and depression, it seemed natural that my goal would be to be maximally blissed.

But with all the highs there’s a low—we eventually come down from it.

Remember not to get attached to the highs and focus more on experiencing peaceful aliveness.

When your life is at peace, there’s a relaxed balance; and the chances of sustained happiness and  contentment increases.

*9. Use your senses.*

As they say, the ordinary is extraordinary.

Happy people receive pleasure from enjoying the simple joys in life, and usually they’re connected to  our senses. This subtle awareness creates significant moments of happiness.

*I discovered the pleasures I receive in the:*

Warmth of a teacup in my hands on a cold winter day

Taste of a square of dark chocolate melting on my tongue.

Dance music in my cycle class that wakes me up Smile of a stranger on the street.  

Aroma of my favorite essential oil and when people say, “You smell so good!”

Continue to mark pleasant sense experiences in your mind and carry them throughout your day to increase your spirits.

*10. Don’t make your intimate relationships the end-all-be-all.*

I used to think the person I was in a relationship with was there to give me my happiness rather than increase it.

Happy  people  understand  that  those  they  are  in  relationship  with  are  an  “addition  to,”  not a completion of them. They live full lives so that at the end of the day they have so much more to share.

*A loving reminder:* Don’t rely on your partners to shift your moods, heal you, or fill your empty    spaces. And remember it’s not your responsibility to do that for your partner either.

Support is an important part of relationship. We’re there on the bad days with compassion and a loving embrace. We’re there on the good days to cheer.

But mostly, we rely on ourselves to give that to ourselves. We trust that our partners can wrestle with their own demons. We offer space for them to discover his or her happiness, while we focus on creating our own.

To know more about how to stay happy, kindly contact Jayant Harde on 9373284136 or +91 7122282029. You can also visit our website: www.jayantharde.com